Preventing moisture, birds, bees, bugs, etc from entering your exhaust and intake pipes

[treehackers]

It is my first off season with a pellet stove and I heard many members discussing the need to block the exhaust and intake vents to prevent moisture from entering the stove - here is what I came up with.

Go to your local plumbing supply store and get what is call a TEST PLUG - see image

As you tighten the nut the unit compresses and the rubber expands out sealing the pipe. WORKS GREAT! Nothing will get in past this.

Make sure you get sizes smaller than the pipe need to plug. a 2.5" - 2.75" is what you want for a 3" pipe - don't over tighten.

Also - if you get a test plug with a wing nut you may need to replace the wing nut with a traditional nut to be able to tighten it up inside of an outside air intake.

These cost about $5 each - it will last for years

 

[nosaudioil]

Also in the plumbing section of your favorite "home improvement store", a rubber Fernco type pipe caps work very well. These are black rubber, come with a screwdriver adjustable clamp and go on the outside of the vent pipe. A 3" cap is about 3.5" ID and perfectly for 3" Simpson vent pipe.

 

[treehackers]

Also in the plumbing section of your favorite "home improvement store", a rubber Fernco type pipe caps work very well. These are black rubber, come with a screwdriver adjustable clamp and go on the outside of the vent pipe. A 3" cap is about 3.5" ID and perfectly for 3" Simpson vent pipe.

I thought about those but it wouldn't work for my OAK - looks the same as a dryer vent so I needed something that would plug the inside diameter.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

our oak kits are screened so im sure a plug wouldnt work , will have to look at that

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

our oak kits are screened so im sure a plug wouldnt work , will have to look at that

outside air pipes are required to have screens for rodents etc.
some disasemly will be required to plug the oak. depending on exhaust cap some take apart might be needed to do this too

 

[treehackers]

our oak kits are screened so im sure a plug wouldnt work , will have to look at that

outside air pipes are required to have screens for rodents etc.
some disasemly will be required to plug the oak. depending on exhaust cap some take apart might be needed to do this too

I just have a plastic cover screen that easily pops off